Most tuna pesto pasta is three things: pasta, jarred pesto, canned tuna. It works and it takes fifteen minutes.
This one has Boursin in it. A round of the garlic and herb kind melted into a splash of cream, then the pesto stirred through at the end. Richer, and it clings to the pasta instead of sitting on it.
The other thing worth knowing: the pesto goes in off the heat. Cook basil pesto and it goes dull and army green and loses most of what makes it taste like basil. Turn the burner off, stir it through, and it stays bright.
Still a pantry dinner. Canned tuna, a jar of pesto, and about 20 minutes. If you want the version without the cream, my anchovies and shrimp pasta is the other pantry pasta I make on repeat.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Boursin does the work of a cream sauce. No roux, no reduction, no risk of splitting. A round melts into a splash of cream in about a minute and it's already seasoned with garlic and herbs.
- The pesto stays green. It goes in off the heat, so you get basil rather than the dull army-green version you get when pesto simmers.
- Canned tuna means no prep. Drain it, flake it into the pan, done. This is a pantry dinner, not a shopping trip.
- One pan and a pot. Pasta boils, sauce happens in a skillet, everything comes together in the skillet at the end.
- About 20 minutes. Most of that is waiting for water to boil.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need. Exact amounts are in the recipe card.
- Pasta: Short shapes work best. Penne, rotini, fusilli, or casarecce. The ridges and hollows hold a creamy sauce where long noodles let it slide off.
- Canned tuna, oil-packed: Worth seeking out over water-packed. The oil carries flavor the water doesn't, and the tuna comes out softer rather than dry and chalky. If water-packed is what you have, drain it and add an extra spoonful of pesto to make up for the missing fat.
- Pesto: Store-bought basil pesto is what I use, and this is not the recipe to feel guilty about that. Homemade is better if you have basil going soft in the fridge.
- Boursin, garlic and herb: The round, not the tub spread. It melts into a sauce in about a minute and it arrives already seasoned, so you're not building a cream sauce from scratch. This is what makes this version different from every other tuna pesto pasta.
- Heavy cream: A splash, to loosen the Boursin into something pourable. Milk works and gives a thinner sauce, in which case reserve extra pasta water to help it cling.
- Garlic and onion: Softened in olive oil before the tuna goes in. It's two minutes and it gives the sauce a base that pesto alone doesn't have.
- Olive oil: For the aromatics. Nothing fancy needed, since the pesto is bringing its own.
- Salt and pepper: Taste before you add either. Pesto and Boursin are both salty and the pasta water was salted too.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions and Add-Ins
- No Boursin? Cream cheese with a little garlic powder and dried herbs stirred in gets you close. Crème fraîche works too and is tangier. Either way you'll want a bit more salt, since Boursin arrives seasoned.
- Skip the cream entirely. Use pasta water instead and you've got the standard version, which is lighter and honestly still good. Reserve more than you think, about a cup.
- Cherry tomatoes: Halved and stirred in at the end. Something acidic against all that cream, and it's what most of the non-creamy versions use. This is the addition I'd make first.
- Baby spinach or arugula: A handful tossed in with the hot pasta so it wilts from the residual heat. Arugula is peppery and holds up better against the pesto.
- Other protein: Cooked shrimp, shredded rotisserie chicken, or a drained can of white beans. Flaked salmon works if you have leftovers.
- Sun-dried tomato pesto: Instead of basil. Deeper and sweeter, and it goes better with the cream than you'd expect.
- Toasted breadcrumbs: Over the top. Everything in this dish is soft, so something crunchy does more than it sounds like it would.
- Lemon: A squeeze at the end. Not traditional, but a creamy pasta with tinned fish in it wants acid, and this is the fastest way to get it.
How to Make Creamy Tuna Pesto Pasta
- Cook the pasta. Salted water, cooked to al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining. You will use more of it than you expect with a cream sauce.
- Soften the aromatics. While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the garlic and onion and cook until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Don't let the garlic brown.
- Warm the tuna. Add the drained tuna and break it up with a fork. Cook a minute, just to heat it through. You're not browning it.
- Melt in the Boursin. Add the Boursin and the cream, and stir until it melts into a smooth sauce. Keep the heat at medium, since a hard simmer will split it. Season with pepper, and taste before adding any salt.
- Add the pasta. Toss the drained pasta into the skillet and coat it in the sauce. Splash in reserved pasta water a little at a time until the sauce loosens and clings rather than sitting under the noodles.
- Turn the heat off, then add the pesto. Off the burner first. Stir the pesto through until everything is coated. Cooking pesto dulls the color and flattens the basil, so this only works after the heat is off.
- Serve. Grated parmesan and fresh basil if you have it. Straight to the plate.
Rose's Top Tips
- Turn the heat off before the pesto goes in. Basil pesto dulls the moment it hits a hot pan, going from bright green to army green and losing most of what makes it taste like basil. Off the burner, then stir it through.
- Reserve more pasta water than you think. A full cup. A cream sauce drinks it, and once the pot is drained there's no getting it back.
- Buy oil-packed tuna if you can. The oil carries flavor that water doesn't, and the tuna stays soft rather than going chalky in the sauce. Water-packed works, just add an extra spoonful of pesto.
- Keep the sauce at medium. A hard simmer splits a cream sauce and there's no bringing it back. Gentle and steady while the Boursin melts.
- Taste before you salt. Boursin is seasoned, pesto is salty, and the pasta water was salted too. Three salty things in one pan is how it gets away from you.
- Don't overcook the pasta. Pull it a minute before the package says, since it keeps cooking in the hot sauce. Soft pasta in a creamy sauce turns to mush fast.
What to Serve With Tuna Pesto Pasta
The pasta is rich and salty and it's a full meal on its own. What goes with it should be sharp or green, not more of the same.
- Air fryer cheesy tortilla garlic bread: Ready before the pasta water boils, and it's the fastest way to get something for the sauce left in the bowl.
- Filipino cucumber salad: Cold and vinegary against a cream sauce. Five minutes and it does more for the plate than any cooked side would.
- Roasted asparagus or broccolini: Lemon and olive oil, nothing else. In and out of the oven in the time the pasta takes.
- Sliced tomatoes with flaky salt: Not really a recipe. Ripe tomatoes, salt, a little olive oil. The fastest acid you can put next to a creamy pasta.
Storage and Reheating
Fridge: Airtight container for up to 3 days. The sauce thickens as it sits and the pasta absorbs most of it, which is normal.
Reheating: Low heat in a skillet with a splash of cream, milk, or water. Stir as it comes back together. Cream sauces separate if you rush them, so keep the heat gentle. The microwave works at half power with a stir halfway, it just won't be as smooth.
Cold is fine, too. This is good straight from the fridge as a pasta salad. Loosen it with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, since the sauce tightens overnight.
Don't freeze it. Cream sauces break on thawing and the pasta goes soft. There's nothing to recover.
Recipe FAQs
Oil, if you have the choice. The oil carries flavor that water doesn't, and the tuna stays soft in the sauce rather than going dry and chalky. Water-packed works, just drain it well and add an extra spoonful of pesto to make up for the missing fat.
It got cooked. Basil pesto loses its color and most of its flavor the moment it hits a hot pan. Turn the heat off completely, then stir it through. That one change is the difference between bright green and army green.
No. Skip the Boursin and cream and use pasta water instead, and you have the standard version of this dish, which is lighter and still good. Reserve about a cup of pasta water if you go that way, since it's doing all the work.
Cream cheese with garlic powder and dried herbs stirred in gets you close. Crème fraîche works and is tangier. Either way you'll want a little more salt, since Boursin arrives already seasoned.
Use milk instead of heavy cream. The sauce will be thinner, so reserve extra pasta water and add it gradually until it clings.
It's better made fresh, but it keeps three days and it's genuinely good cold as a pasta salad. Loosen it with olive oil and lemon before serving, since the sauce tightens in the fridge.
Cooked shrimp, shredded rotisserie chicken, flaked salmon, or a drained can of white beans. All of them work with the same sauce.
Yes, and it's five minutes in a food processor. Basil, garlic, pine nuts or walnuts, olive oil, and parmesan. Store-bought is what I usually use and there's nothing wrong with it.
Other Easy Pasta Recipes
- Boursin Macaroni and Cheese: The other Boursin pasta, and the easiest creamy one on the site.
- Anchovies and Shrimp Pasta: Salty, garlicky, no cream. The other tinned fish pasta I make on repeat.
- Garlic Noodles: Butter, garlic, parmesan. Different direction, same weeknight speed.
- Creamy Truffle Pasta: Another cream sauce with a finishing ingredient that goes in off the heat.
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Creamy Tuna Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- 1 pot
- 1 skillet pan
Ingredients
- 8 ounce pasta rigatoni or pasta of your choice (penne, rotini, fusilli, or linguine work well)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot or onion, minced
- 7 ounce canned tuna
- 5.2 ounce Boursin Garlic and Herb Cheese
- ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- ¼ cup pesto sauce
- parmesan cheese (optional garnish)
- basil leaves (optional garnish)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions for al dente (firm to the bite). Reserve about ¼ cup of the pasta water before draining.8 ounce pasta rigatoni
- Sauté the aromatics: While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes.¼ cup olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 shallot or onion, minced
- Flake and heat the tuna: Add the drained tuna to the pan and break it up with a fork. Cook for an additional minute to warm through.7 ounce canned tuna
- Create the creamy sauce: Add a dollop of Boursin cheese and a splash of heavy whipping cream to the pan. Stir until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.5.2 ounce Boursin Garlic and Herb Cheese, ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream, salt and pepper (to taste)
- Combine pasta and creamy sauce: Drain the pasta, reserving a little bit of the starchy pasta water (about ¼ cup). Toss the cooked pasta with the creamy sauce in the pan. Add a splash or two of reserved pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.
- Incorporate the pesto (last minute!): Once the pasta is coated in the creamy sauce, immediately turn off the heat. Stir in your favorite pesto, ensuring it coats everything evenly. Don't cook the pesto here to preserve its vibrant color and fresh flavor.¼ cup pesto sauce
- Serve and enjoy!: Plate the pasta and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese or fresh herbs, if desired. Dive in and enjoy this delicious and flavorful dish!parmesan cheese, basil leaves
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Notes
- Turn the heat off before the pesto goes in. Basil pesto dulls the moment it hits a hot pan, going from bright green to army green and losing most of its flavor.
- Reserve a full cup of pasta water. A cream sauce drinks it, and once the pot is drained there's no getting it back.
- Oil-packed tuna over water-packed. More flavor, and it stays soft in the sauce. If you use water-packed, drain it well and add an extra spoonful of pesto.
- Keep the sauce at medium. A hard simmer splits a cream sauce and it won't come back.
- Taste before you salt. Boursin, pesto, and salted pasta water are three salty things in one pan.
- Pull the pasta a minute early. It keeps cooking in the hot sauce, and soft pasta in a creamy sauce turns to mush quickly.
- No Boursin? Cream cheese with garlic powder and dried herbs, or crème fraîche. Add a little more salt either way.
- To skip the cream entirely: Leave out the Boursin and cream and use pasta water instead. That's the standard version and it's lighter.
- Storage: Up to 3 days in the fridge. Reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of milk, or eat it cold as a pasta salad with a little olive oil and lemon.
